[Magdalen] Bp. Wright OKs same sex weddings

[Gail Edwards]

Not sure, but it may have to do with the various ways the church tried to prevent clandestine marriage, irregular marriage, coerced marriage, forced marriage.

So banns were read in the home parish of both parties - announcing publicly that a marriage would take place, the ceremony could only be performed during certain hours of the day (so no nocturnal surreptitious ceremony), both parties had to be of sound mind and legal age, the family of the bride consented publicly to the marriage (the "giving" of the bride by her father), the community was given one last chance to voice concerns about irregularities ("speak now or forever hold your peace." I'm assuming that outdoor marriages introduced the possibility of unregulated "marriage on the fly" outside the regulatory gaze of the community. 

Gail in Vancouver


> On Jun 30, 2015, at 10:09 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I don't understand the reasoning behind it AT ALL! Seems ridiculous to me
> for a whole lot of reasons. I seem to recall that Orthodox Jewish weddings
> are *supposed* to take place outdoors, and in some ultra-orthodox sects,
> are often done in the evening under the stars. for some reason which at
> present escapes me.
> 
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 1:05 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> I don't understand the idea that weddings shouldn't take place outdoors.
>> Isn't God's Creation about as sacred as a place could be?  The first time I
>> ran into this was when a friend of my daughter's wanted an outdoor wedding.
>> She was Episcopalian and her husband Catholic. The Catholic priest was
>> willing to do the wedding, but told them it couldn't be outdoors. So they
>> asked me to do it. A friend of theirs who was a Jesuit priest participated,
>> but he had me pronounce the blessing.
>> 
>> I still don't know why the Catholic Church doesn't permit outdoor
>> weddings, but I'm sure someone on here can enlighten me...  I don't prefer
>> them, for a whole lot of non-theological reasons, but I've done a number of
>> them, and I can't come up with a theological reason for objecting.
>> 
>> On June 30, 2015, at 10:39 AM, Susan Hutchinson <shutchinsonca at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> On 2015-06-29, at 11:59 PM, Sally Davies wrote:
>>> 
>>> We have that same 'outdoors' rule here, must be a Colonial hangover.
>> 
>> 
>> This used to be the case in Canada. The Marriage Canon was changed several
>> years ago at the behest of First Nations people. Outdoor venues require the
>> Bishop's permission in most dioceses.
>> 
>> My sister wanted me to perform her wedding a few years ago. I needed
>> permission from the bishop in the diocese in which she was living. She
>> wanted an outdoor wedding, was divorced twice (one only is allowed by
>> canon), and is not baptized (neither was her fiance). I told her that I
>> might be able to sort out the outdoor part, but not the others --
>> especially not in a different diocese with a strict bishop! She understood.
>> The official part of the wedding was done by a provincial marriage
>> commissioner (a specifically licensed non religious offficial in British
>> Columbia). I gave a blessing at the end.
>> 
>> blessings
>> Susan
>> 
>> 
>> The Rev. Susan Hutchinson
>> 604-319-7148
>> shutchinsonca at gmail.com
>> 
>>